The best way to redeem IHG factors

I incessantly keep at IHG properties, primarily due to the worth I can get when redeeming IHG factors. Though IHG moved to dynamic award pricing in 2020, I’ve continued getting strong worth from my IHG factors.

This is what you’ll want to find out about redeeming IHG One Rewards factors for stays, flights and extra.

Redeem IHG factors for resort stays

You’ll be able to redeem IHG factors for many IHG stays by IHG’s web site, app or buyer care. Nevertheless, it’s possible you’ll be unable to redeem IHG factors at some InterContinental Residences, IHG Military Inns and Six Senses properties.

You’ll be able to normally solely redeem IHG factors for traditional room varieties. Reward nights embrace taxes and charges — besides at Iberostar Beachfront Resorts, the place you may have to pay native and conditional taxes or charges — however do not embrace resort charges, service prices, transportation, gratuities and incidentals.

Since IHG makes use of dynamic award pricing, the variety of factors you may have to redeem for a reward night time will fluctuate. IHG’s phrases and circumstances say reward night time pricing “might fluctuate in accordance with a number of components, together with however not restricted to model, resort, and day of week.” Though there are not any reward night time blackout dates, it’s possible you’ll not discover award availability for some stays as a result of “room stock is proscribed and topic to prior sale,” in accordance with IHG’s phrases and circumstances.

To examine award night time availability and pricing, begin on IHG’s web site or app. Enter your vacation spot, check-in date, checkout date and variety of visitors. Choose “Reward Nights” from the drop-down menu below “Charge Choice.”

The subsequent web page will present you the award night time outcomes on your search question. You’ll be able to filter these outcomes by facilities or manufacturers. You can even type by varied metrics, together with distance, value and score.

Click on on “Map” to see the place the properties are situated inside your vacation spot.

When you click on “Choose Resort” for one of many properties, you may see the room choices you’ll be able to guide with factors on your keep. Some properties might solely provide one room sort, whereas others might provide quite a lot of room setups or views. Scroll by the choices, and choose the perfect room sort on your journey.

It is also price checking paid charges by clicking the “Cash” button. For instance, I might guide a versatile fee with free cancellation till two days earlier than check-in at this Resort Indigo for both 31,000 IHG factors or $202 on the pattern date I picked. So, redeeming factors for this keep would yield a redemption fee of 0.65 cents per level. (That is larger than TPG’s October 2024 valuation of IHG factors at 0.5 cents per level, so it is a redemption we might advocate.)

Associated: Which bank card must you use for IHG stays?

Let’s assume you toggled again to the “Factors” tab, clicked on the 31,000 factors per night time possibility and clicked “Choose.” Doing so would take you to the final web page earlier than confirming your reservation. You’ll want to examine the cancellation coverage on this last web page. Most reward night time stays are free to cancel till shortly earlier than your keep, however cancellation insurance policies fluctuate.

IHG often provides reward night time reductions to eligible Platinum Elite, Diamond Elite and IHG One Rewards bank card holders. You may normally get an electronic mail from IHG about these reward night time reductions, however you usually should guide shortly to benefit from the discounted charges.

Lastly, word that IHG’s phrases and circumstances now permit a second visitor listed on a reward night time reservation to remain even when the member who booked the reward night time is not staying. So you’ll be able to redeem your IHG factors for a buddy or member of the family’s keep. Nevertheless, there are extra necessities in case your keep is inside mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau or Taiwan.

Associated: The best way to maximize redemptions with the IHG One Rewards program

Fourth-night-free reward

Maybe one of the simplest ways to get higher worth when redeeming IHG factors is to get an IHG bank card with the fourth-night-free reward perk. This perk lets cardholders of the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit score Card, the IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit score Card and the IHG One Rewards Premier Enterprise Credit score Card pay zero factors for each fourth night time when redeeming factors for stays of 4 nights or extra.

With out this profit, this four-night keep on the Vacation Inn Resort Kandooma Maldives would value 220,000 factors.

Since I’ve the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit score Card, which provides the fourth-night-free reward perk to cardholders, I might solely have to redeem 125,000 factors for this four-night keep. (Sure, the fourth night time was 95,000 factors on the dates I randomly chosen.)

Even when you redeem IHG factors solely a few times a yr for stays of 4 nights or longer, this worthwhile perk alone makes it price getting and preserving an IHG bank card.

Associated: Why you must get (and maintain) the IHG One Rewards Premier card

Factors and money

As you may need seen in some screenshots above, you too can guide factors and money charges. Know, although, that you just’re successfully shopping for factors once you guide an IHG factors and money fee, so you may be refunded solely in IHG factors when you cancel your reserving inside the free cancellation interval.

It is price working by the mathematics and checking the speed at which you’ll purchase IHG factors outright earlier than you guide a factors and money fee. For instance, take into account this one-night keep in New York Metropolis.

For a one-night keep in a typical room with a king-size mattress and free cancellation till sooner or later earlier than your arrival, you would pay:

• 52,000 factors
• 42,000 factors and $69
• 32,000 factors and $134
• 22,000 factors and $194
• 17,000 factors and $219
• 12,000 factors and $239
• $351

For those who redeemed 52,000 factors for this night time that may in any other case value $351, you’d get a redemption fee of 0.675 cents per level. In the meantime, when you booked a points-and-cash fee, you’d successfully purchase IHG factors for between 0.598 and 0.69 cents per level.

Associated: The best way to earn IHG factors through stays, bank cards and extra

Switch IHG factors to airline companions

Like many resort rewards packages, you’ll be able to switch your IHG factors to numerous airline companions. You’ll be able to see all of the airline choices on IHG’s earn miles web page. Nevertheless, most packages switch at a fee of 10,000 IHG factors to 2,000 airline miles. So, you are nearly sure to lose worth once you redeem your IHG factors for airline miles.

Due to this, you must solely take into account transferring IHG factors to an airline if you’ll want to prime up your account stability for a particular redemption. In any other case, you may nearly definitely get higher worth when redeeming IHG factors for resort stays.

Associated: Greatest IHG seashore resorts starting from family-friendly resorts to luxurious stays

Different methods to redeem IHG factors

You can even redeem IHG factors for different sorts of rewards and experiences. Doing so will normally provide you with a comparatively low redemption fee, and the precise choices fluctuate primarily based in your area and nation of residence. This is a have a look at the choices out there to U.S. residents.

Digital rewards

You’ll be able to redeem IHG factors for films, ebooks, digital magazines, video games, cell top-offs and software program by this system’s digital rewards portal. Digital magazines begin at round 350 factors, whereas films begin at round 1,800 factors.

Associated: The 19 finest IHG resorts on the earth

IHG One Rewards Entry

By way of IHG One Rewards Entry, you’ll be able to redeem IHG factors for choose experiences, together with sports activities and unique occasions. Typically, you’ll be able to safe an expertise for a set variety of factors; different instances, you may have to enter a bid in a web-based public sale for the prospect to win.

Journey add-ons

You can even redeem IHG factors for actions in choose cities, together with Las Vegas.

Whereas this may appear interesting, examine comparable paid charges earlier than redeeming your IHG factors to make sure you get a superb redemption worth.

IHG One Rewards catalog

You’ll be able to redeem IHG factors for merchandise, present playing cards, donations and extra by the IHG One Rewards catalog. For instance, you’ll be able to redeem between 1,000 and a pair of,500 IHG factors for a yearlong journal subscription.

You can even redeem IHG factors for present playing cards to numerous retailers. This is what number of factors you may have to redeem for bodily present playing cards of various quantities:

• $100 present card: 49,000 factors (redemption fee of 0.2 cents per level)
• $50 present card: 25,000 factors (redemption fee of 0.2 cents per level)
• $25 present card: 13,000 factors (redemption fee of 0.19 cents per level)
• $15 present card: 8,000 factors (redemption fee of 0.19 cents per level)
• $10 present card: 5,500 factors (redemption fee of 0.18 cents per level)

You can even redeem IHG factors for merchandise, together with headphones, backpacks and laptop computer computer systems. For those who do not see what you need, you’ll be able to request distinctive devices and big-ticket gadgets by the rewards concierge.

Lastly, you’ll be able to donate your factors to charity, with choices beginning at simply 2,500 factors.

Associated: The most effective IHG all-inclusive resorts, from Jamaica to Mexico

Backside line

There are a lot of methods to redeem IHG One Rewards factors. Nevertheless, I nearly all the time advocate redeeming your IHG factors for resort stays. This gives you probably the most worth on your factors and allow you to discover over 6,000 IHG properties worldwide.